Beyond Traditional Cancer Care: How Clinical Trials Save Lives and Money

Healthcare on the Rocks - Employee Benefits with a Twist

Oct 6 2024 • 20 mins

In this episode, guests Tommy Axford and Dr. Natalya Gertsik from Private Health Management (PHM), talk about clinical trials and cancer care. They discuss why employers struggle with cancer-related costs and how clinical trials can be both medically beneficial and cost-effective. The conversation centers on the unique challenges cancer presents as a complex set of diseases rather than a single condition with standard solutions. Dr. Gertsik highlights a story about "Peter," who was given three months to live but achieved complete remission through a clinical trial identified by PHM. As Peter recounts, "It has now been a dozen years that I have been in remission from what was an original death sentence."

The discussion explores barriers to clinical trial access, including the vast number of trials available and various patient, provider, and institutional challenges. With specialty oncology medications averaging $65,000, clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies can offer significant cost savings for employers. Dr. Gertsik, "Most of the benefits employers are putting in place work for 95 percent of their population, but they don't work as well for the sickest and most expensive 5%."

Key Takeaways:

  • Cancer's complexity requires sophisticated solutions beyond traditional benefits
  • Clinical trials can provide cutting-edge treatments while reducing employer costs
  • Major access barriers include provider time constraints and complex qualification criteria
  • Solutions need to focus on the 5% of employees who represent the highest healthcare costs
  • Employers need partners who can address all cancer types comprehensively

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Produced by David Pittman

Theme music: "Overboard" by Stay Outside